CBS’ new “Magnum P.I.” features a leading man with a goatee, but it sounds like star Jay Hernandez might shave off the chin-hair portion for Episode 2.
“We’re doing an homage to the mustache at some point,” Hernandez (pictured above) told a roomful of reporters Sunday at the Television Critics Association press tour.
Executive producer Peter Lenkov clarified that the nod will come in the freshman season’s second episode. Neither elaborated on the exact nature of the tip of the (Detroit Tigers) cap to original star Tom Selleck’s signature facial hair.
“I think trying to clone Tom Selleck, trying to do that ‘Magnum,’ is a slippery slope,” Lenkov said on why the mustache will be a fleeting acknowledgement as opposed to a job requirement.
Back in May, CBS executives were asked about the goatee vs. mustache thing, as well as the removal of the comma from the original title, “Magnum, P.I.”
“We debated the ‘Magnum’ thing for quite a bit, believe it or not,” CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl said back then about the latter issue. “There was a comma before, we’re taking the comma out this time to streamline things.”
“I think there’s a little science behind it, actually,” he continued. “In the new world of searching, commas are not your friends.”
When asked by a reporter about how “rigorous” the debate was about if new star Hernandez ought to copy Selleck’s trademark look, Kahl came up with the following:
“It’s a goatee, so it’s… half-mustache,” he said. “Thom [Sherman, a senior vice president] and I dictated that he have a goatee.”
“Magnum P.I.” will air Mondays at 9 p.m. this fall on CBS, leading in to “Bull.”
9 Stars Who Couldn't Cut It as Murphy Brown's Secretary, From Hillary Clinton to JFK Jr (Photos)
"Murphy Brown" has returned to television on CBS for 13 episodes, with the new season premiere airing to modest ratings on Thursday. While a lot has changed in media since Candice Bergen's Brown hosted the fictional news broadcast "FYI," one thing that hasn't changed is how hard it is to find good help. One of the show's longest recurring gags was how nearly every week Brown had a wacky and incompetent new secretary, everyone from a man with a Hitler mustache to a pleasant looking woman who worshiped Satan. More than 90 people sat in that assistant's chair over the show's 10 seasons, including some celebrity cameos, but not one of them lasted.
Paul Reubens
Pee-Wee Herman himself helped out Murphy Brown, appearing in six episodes of the show as Stan Lansing's nephew.
CBS
Marcia Wallace
Before Marcia Wallace was Edna Krabappel on "The Simpsons," Wallace had a part on "The Bob Newhart Show" as Bob Hartley's dynamo of a receptionist Carol Bondurant. During a special crossover episode of "Murphy Brown," Carol proved to be Brown's best secretary ever, a real keeper. But at the end of the episode, Bob rushes into the office and begs for Carol to come back and work for him, despite Brown's pleading.
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John Kennedy Jr.
You can hear the women in the live audience swooning when it's revealed that John John is Brown's latest secretary. "I guess the lawyer thing didn't work out," Brown jokes. He wasn't there to work, but to drop off a "wedding present" that was just a fake cover of the magazine he edited, "George."
CBS
Kramer
When Kramer (Michael Richards) heads out to Los Angeles on an episode of "Seinfeld," Jerry and Elaine spot him on an episode of "Murphy Brown" as another new secretary. His rapid-fire typing is hysterical, and the show even teases that she has "a good feeling" about him.
NBC
Sally Field
Murphy Brown would've been lucky to have fellow single-mother Norma Rae as her secretary, or better yet her "Absence of Malice" journalist Megan Carter, but instead she got Kathleen Dubek, secretary 91.
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Rosie O'Donnell
The final season of "Murphy Brown" featured a cavalcade of celebrity cameos, including Rosie O'Donnell as a particularly annoying singing secretary.
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Don Rickles
Rickles would've been in his 70s by the time he stepped into the secretary job during the show's final season.
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Bette Midler
In the show's stellar finale, Bette Midler took charge as secretary Caprice Feldman. "Caprice! With two Cs, interlocking like Chanel!" Her wealthy socialite type was always told by her (dead) husband that she could never hold down a job. Well, she picked one with quite the track record.
CBS
Hillary Clinton
At least the former First Lady has some experience as a "secretary," telling Murphy Brown in the revival's season premiere that she worked as one for four years in a "very large organization." Not only that, she boasted that she's "qualified, and I'm ready on day one." She even joked she has "some experience with emails."
CBS
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No matter how famous, no secretary lasted long on the CBS sitcom
"Murphy Brown" has returned to television on CBS for 13 episodes, with the new season premiere airing to modest ratings on Thursday. While a lot has changed in media since Candice Bergen's Brown hosted the fictional news broadcast "FYI," one thing that hasn't changed is how hard it is to find good help. One of the show's longest recurring gags was how nearly every week Brown had a wacky and incompetent new secretary, everyone from a man with a Hitler mustache to a pleasant looking woman who worshiped Satan. More than 90 people sat in that assistant's chair over the show's 10 seasons, including some celebrity cameos, but not one of them lasted.
CBS
